Sydney jockey Hugh Bowman has steered Australian import Furore to a strong win in the prestigious Hong Kong Derby at Sha Tin for trainer Frankie Lor.

Bowman made his move early on Furore from barrier 12 of 14, rolling forward to be in a prominent position in Sunday's feature.

With 300m left to run, Bowman urged Furore to the lead and the four-year-old held off favourite Waikuku by 1-1/4 lengths.

"Although Furore drew poorly, I was confident he could do the job if I could get him in the right position," Bowman said.

"I had the stablemate (Mission Tycoon), the likely leader, drawn next to me (11); I thought I could at least go with him to start with and see where we end up. I was able to get a lovely run three pairs back."

Lor became the first local Hong Kong trainer since Tony Cruz 11 years ago to win the Derby in what is his second year of training.

"I can't express my feelings," Lor said.

"To have one horse to even run in the Derby - now I've won the Derby, so it's a dream come true!"

Furore was trained in Australia by Kris Lees and ran third in the 2018 Rosehill Guineas won by D'Argento.